More Hats!!

Well, this holiday season has brought out in me the desire to knit HATS and MITTENS!! I hope you like these attempts, and if not, that's okay, I like my attempts.

This beautiful red Rosina Yarn's 100% Australian Merino Wool is so lovely to knit. I knitted this cute little hat using US #6 and 4 needles.

The multi-colored Helmet Hat w/Mittens is knit up using Punta Del Este Yarns Merisoft Handpainted 100% Merino Wool. The hat was knit using US #10 and 11 needles, double stranded yarn. The mitts were knit up using US #4 needles to get a nice dense fabric.

Hats!!

I have finally attempted and completed my mission on knitting hats!! I completed "The Helmet Hat" by Lang in Boucle Yarn (both helmet hats are the same, just different lighting); completed another so called helmet hat in Punta Del Este Yarn, multicolored and used two strands and the last one was a sort of pillbox variation knitted up in Bernat Yarn.

My Latest Purchase @ Stitch Therapy Brooklyn

I have to just rave about the owner at Stitch Therapy (http://www.stitchtherapybrooklyn.com/), she is such a good sales person. She never makes you feel like you HAVE to buy something or anything. But, she has this wonderful Table Top Sale going on right now and she adds to the stash of yarn on the table. So one of the first things you see is that special 'stash' and you just cannot resist acquiring some of it. I just can't say enough about this store. Everytime I go in she is either unloading a new stash of yarn shipment, adding labels to the stash, rearranging her table top sales and, more importantly, interacting with customers.

Well as you can see I walked away with two balls of each of the items in the picture. This is yarn is called Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran and the two bottom yarns are also by Sublime Kid Mohair Blend. Lovely stuff. . .

Latest on Fingerless Mitts/Gloves

My mom finished blocking the red mitts which she insisted needed to be 'blocked'. I also finished the Moss green fingerless mitts which I then decided to block as 'mother knows best'. They look great and because they worked out so well, I went back to Stitch Therapy Brooklyn and picked up some really nice neutral colored yarns in aran weight. I also picked up in the same neutral colors (ivory and taupe) kid mohair yarns to add to the aran weight yarn so that I could add some texture to basic pattern for more fingerless mitts.

Who are they for you might ask? Well I don't know. I am making them and will see where the road will take me. Maybe some for the upcoming holidays. . .

Fingerless Mitts

I have now journeyed into the land of 'Fingerless Mitts and Gloves'. Not too different from socks in that you are knitting in the round using double pointed needles. I recently visited my local yarn shop called "Stitch Therapy a Fine Yarn Shop" www.stitchtherapybrookly.com . Small shop, but loaded with beautiful yarns. The owner is always willing to help you figure out patterns and always encouraging her customers to try out this or that. Great place. Please visit this store, as the saying goes 'great things come in small packages' and you will definitely not be disappointed.

Well, she had finished knitting up a lovely fingerless mitt for a floor display. I toyed with the sample while visiting and that night fell asleep thinking about this glove. I just had to try it. Well, I went back the very next day, purchased a lovely red yarn by EXTRA - 100% Australian Merino, Shrink Resistent yarn.

What a pleasure to knit with this yarn. The ply is beautiful and there is this lovely slight sheen to the fabric. I presently do not have a picture of the finished product as my mom, once again, is blocking the set of fingerless mitts at her home.

You will notice, by viewing the second picture, that I have started my second pair of fingerless mitts in Artyarns Supermerino colorway 119. Using US #4 needles.

When I started knitting the mitts, I decided to do both at the same time using two sets of double pointed needles in the same sizes of course, so that I could finish both basically at the same time. One is a little more advanced in the pattern than the other, but will soon reach its mate quickly. This is a really easy pattern to do.

I have a slight problem with my knitting in that I do the first mate correctly and then somehow the second mate is tighter!! I have no idea why this happens to me, although some have suggested that maybe I feel more confident with the pattern, thus I am knitting tighter in order to finish the entire project. Who knows, but I aim to conquer this little dilemma.

Opal Ankle Socks

This is another pair of socks I recently finished. I love this yarn as it is self-patterning. It almost looks like Fair Isle knitting, but NOT! This yarn is lovely to work with and very forgiving. I encourage everyone who knits to always use a yarn that will be pleasing to the eyes so that you don't get bored with it. This yarn, you will definitely not get bored.

These socks are simple basic ankle socks, knitted on US #2 dpn needles.

Update on Latest Socks

Well, finally I finished the Flying Geese Socks. My dear mom blocked these socks for me and let me tell you, they look fantastic blocked! I didn't realize what 'blocking' can do for your knitting pieces.

I must share with you that I have discovered that I tend to knit my first socks of a pair nicely. Its mate usually never looks the same. Case in point: I did the first sock of the Flying Geese Pattern and it came out beautiful, granted there might have been one or two little 'signature markings' but overall it came out beautiful. Its mate on the other hand, did not as you will see from the picture.

First of all let me share with you that knitting can be very very relaxing, but when you are under a surmountable stress value as I was on the day I attempted to finish this sock, you will quickly come to realize that you will make terrible mistakes that you will regret for the life of that sock.

The mate to this sock went through much distress at my hands. I started grafting the toe way way before I was supposed to. I realized my mistake, but by this point I had already 'cut' the yarn. I attempted to go back and undo the grafting, add yarn to the existing yarn and continue the pattern until I really arrived at the place of grafting the required stitches. Well, my toe area ended up looking like a 'roach killer' sock!! Meaning that it was pointy rather than rounded as it mate was.

By the end of this finished product, I can tell you I was NOT relaxed, but more distressed than when I started. My daughter said not to look upon it as a 'mistake' but rather that the sock itself had 'character'. Suffice to say, I took her advice and left the sock as is.

Colinette Jitterbug Yarn, et al

The Jitterbug hanks I have at home, and I have lots, come in hanks of 100 grams, approximately 267 meters and according to the label and LYS owner, one hank is enough for a pair of socks. I always purchase two hanks of everything if making socks, because I am always afraid that I won't have sufficient yarn to complete the project.

I recently completed a pair of socks in the Crystal Palace Cotton Panda, 170 yards, 50 grams. And one skein completed two socks although I did use a small amount of yarn from the second skein, but virtually one skein completed the pair. I used size US #2 needles.

Flying Geese Pattern Socks

Here is the Flying Geese Sock finished. And, yes, I am in the process of creating its mate. Jitterbug is a wonderful yarn to work with. I love the flecks of cranberry color scattered throughout the yarn. If you see this yarn in any of your travels, pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

Yarns

My blog's description does have the wording 'luxurious yarns' and so here it begins. These yarns have a feel so soft and light. The HandMaiden's 4-ply Cashmere is totally soft, almost like a newborn puppy's or kitten's fur. The Fleece Artist's colorways are totally crisp and bright. Lorna's Laces blend of silk and wool is quite striking and Lanas Puras out of South America, is a lace weight yarn. I can't wait to create something beautiful from these yarns. If you click on the picture, the photo will open up a little bigger and you can see details and the description of the yarns.

Knitting Circles

I recently joined a knitting circle in my neighborhood sponsored by the local yarn store. At first I was a little nervous about going because I didn't know what it would entail, besides 'knitting'. Well I was so pleasantly surprised. I met some really nice ladies there. Its a wonderful experience to share the very basic commonality of knitting. I've been learning little things here and there about knitting and realizing that knitting is 'fun'. When I first started on this journey of knitting, I was in a mode of 'beat the clock' syndrome, but now I am learning to enjoy each stitch as I go along, enjoy the fruit of my labor and labor of many who put these beautiful yarns together. I am understanding there is a deeper connection between the movement of my knitting fingers/hands and the fibers. Fibers have come from live animals, and hopefully still alive, and my hands/fingers are alive as well. Something is happening something is connecting. Something is become an heirloom for someone to cherish.

At the knitting circle we are each creating, exchanging, laughing and learning. If you haven't joined one yet, check one out in your neighborhood or even start one. You won't regret it.

New York City's Subway System and Sock Knitting

I have heard that there is a 'snobbery' that happen with knitters. I was a bit skeptical about that labeling until I realized I became a 'knitting snob'. I must say there is nothing wrong with it. . .

I have become a little more comfortable with my knitting in public. I can actually work on my socks while standing at the platform waiting for the train. I don't need to sit in order to knit my socks. Socks are wonderful. They are portable, the needles don't get into others' 3 feet of space limitation and gives a quick gratification for those who need to see some results yesterday rather than today!!

Well recently, I had to stand all the way home as I was not quick enough to grab a seat. So I stood against the door, although all New Yorkers know we are not supposed to lean against the door, but as New Yorkers go, we do nevertheless. Anyway there I was knitting away at a sock I had just started. For those of you who do not knit socks, the first fews rounds are a little awkward and sometimes the needles flay ever so slightly. Well I was happily knitting along when all of a sudden a woman screeches out "are you knitting socks?" to which I shyly said yes. All heads in the particular train car looked my way. I just wanted to melt into the door. I don't like attention brought to me, I am more comfortable being a wallflower. Anyway she continued to tell me how she knitted only one sock, of which she was quite proud of, in a neon green no less was the color chosen for her sock and how she found it quite boring. Well that she found socks boring made for less conversation. . .mind you, all this was said at the top of her lungs and everyone was listening. All I could do was nod nicely and nicely nod I did.

I couldn't wait for her to stop talking so I could get back to my knitting. She finally got a seat to which I gladly did not push her over so that I could get that seat and I finally got back to my sock!!! As all knitters know, every minute wasted is a minute a stitch could be knitted. I realized then I had arrived. I became a 'knitting snob' and proud of it I am!!!!

Colinette Jitterbug Yarn

Some have asked me how do I like this yarn. I must say I love it. Of course, I compare all yarns against Jade Sapphire's Mongolian Handspun Cashmere yarn and nothing compares to the softness of that yarn, but this yarn is fun to work with. Because I am not as experienced at knitting as some others are, I find that I cause the yarn to split. This yarn is excellent in that it did not allow me to split it easily. The ply was a tight ply unlike the Cotton Panda yarn which split too easily, that doesn't mean I didn't like Cotton Panda, I loved it and loved the product it produced. Jitterbug feels very substantial in the hand, and I noticed that with the heat it would get a little crunchy, possibly because my hands were starting to sweat. Who knows, but overall the yarn lent itself to the pattern very nicely and it has a little sheen to it. I don't think that can be seen in the picture but it does, trust me. Very slight sheen, which I like. Would I use this yarn again ABSOLUTELY!!! The color is very pretty. That moss green color has little flecks of cranberry spotting throughout and it falls ever so nicely on the sock. Just love that about the yarn.

Free and Easy Pie Wedge Shawl from Lorna's Lace - Helen's Lace Yarn Division

I started a shawl from a free pattern I got when I purchased Lorna's Lace Hand-Dyed Yarn's Helen's Lace colorway Black Purl. The shawl is made in the short row technique similar to socks' heels. I am using US #8 circular needles.

Flying Geese Pattern Socks

These socks are my very first attempt at following a pattern that contains a graph chart with corresponding symbols for each stitch to be created. It was a good exercise in learning to read charts, doing my very first cable stitches and my very first attempt at an 'intermediate' pattern. Whoa!!! I think I'm doing pretty good. . .wouldn't you agree?! The yarn is by Colinette 'Jitterbug' colorway #75-Moss, using US Needles #3 and 4. You can click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see the design of the 'Flying Geese', pattern by Needful Yarns.

Working with Panda Cotton Yarn

Working with this yarn was lovely. It has a nice elasticity and cool feeling. My socks came out with a nice drape and 'heavy' or substantial feel to it different than the first pair of socks made in Opal superwash wool. The colors are bright. I used one 50 oz. skein to virtually complete the pair. I only had to use a little yardage from the second skein. So now I can make another pair, maybe shorter in the same material. The only feature I didn't like about this yarn was the splitting of the plies. I found that I had to be careful not to split the plies and when I had to rip back a few stitches I found that the yarn would separate its plies. Other than that the yarn was terrific and the end result was quite satisfactory.

Panda Cotton - Socks Finished

My Panda Cotton socks are finally finished!!! These socks feel so comfy and drapey. The fabric is luscious! Panda Cotton by Crystal Palace Yarns and knitted on US #2 needles.

Panda Cotton - Socks In The Works Cont'd

Well I finished the first sock to this lovely Panda Cotton yarn. Now I am in the works of beginning its mate!!

Panda Cotton - Socks In The Works

Well, after all the excitement and cheering of finishing my first ever pair of socks, I started on the next. I realized I really like ankle socks and went in search of a more basic pattern than the previous one I worked on. I wanted the leg portion of the sock to be shorter. Well, I was somewhat unsuccessful in finding a pattern already written and didn't want to pay for a pattern since I have all these sock books that I figured I should have found something there. Well I remembered in some of the sock groups on yahoo, some listers talked about reducing the number of rounds on the 'leg' portion and just continuing with the pattern. I then decided to draw up a very basic pattern through Sock Wizard's program (http://www.knittingsoftware.com/). I have decided to tackle the task of making shorter ankle socks than my previous one. I am continuing this journey. . .

Finished the Retro Anklet Socks!

Whoa!!! I finally finished the sock mate on Wednesday night. I worked feverishly to finish, while watching back to back episodes of "Law & Order: CI". I am so amazed that I really really made a pair of socks. After reading and watching tutorials and watching DVDs on knitting socks, I finally put it all into practice and produced two socks = one pair!!!

Small Throw Afghan

This throw was knitted by me for my youngest daughter. One of the very first items I embarked on that was not a scarf, but you can say this is a large scarf for the bed! I wanted to use this yarn as it felt soft and my daughter just fell in love with the color. So I decided to try my hand a doing something slightly different than a shawl or scarf. I used two colors as you can see, blue and cream and the color combo worked rather well.

I used Lion Brand's Boucle in blue and cream. Used very large knitting needles size 19 US. I used the wooden needles by Clover and they felt like drum sticks in my hands. I occasionally went around pretending I was in "Drumline" and did the moves to my daughter's embarrassment.

The Last Knit Video on YouTube

Cute video to watch:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

Quote of the Week

"The Sound of Learning is Overwhelmingly Deafening."

My Mother's Knitting

Debbie Bliss Cashmarino Yarn - Crocheted Baby Blanket in Blue Cashmarino (although in the photo it looks quite white), Knitted Baby Sweater (or Cardigan) in Cashmarino White with Blue trimming and Knitted Baby Hat in White with Blue Border.
These items were knitted by my mom. She does pretty good work!!

Sunset Square Mitered Afghan

This is an afghan I started several months ago. I only completed two full squares before my mom got a little too tired of my taking so long on it. She completed this afghan in less time it took me to complete '2' squarees. The afghan is made with Noro's Kureyon 100% Wool and sewn together with Noro's Silk Garden Lite. The pattern called for 16 skeins of Kureyon but used 18 skeins which left us with nothing to sew the squares together, so we improvised and used a lighter version of Noro's wool and used it double stranded. I know, I know, we're not supposed to mix and match yarns, but who can tell?!

Anyway, Noro's Kureyon was a difficult yarn to work with. There were many knots found in the skeins and lots of thins and thick throughout the yardage. Both my mom and I learned to 'splice' yarn without having to make 'knots' to piece it together. Just as difficult as this yarn was to work with, so was taking a photograph of it!!! I will continue to experiment with lighting in order to take a better photo of it and replace these, but I wanted to put these up for your 'enjoyment'.

Newest Update on Retro Anklet Socks

Well OKAY!!! I finally finished ONE sock. And as promised, here is the picture. As you can see I have started my second sock -- its mate.

As I started the sock and worked on it, the funniest thing happened. I could not recall how or what I did to achieve the first sock. I then started to panic and in my sleep I was obsessing about the pattern, the stitch count, the needles, the colors, etc. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night, but I am on my way with the second sock.

Quote of the Week

This was expressed by my minister from the pulpit:

'If you are a couch potato, your children will grow up to be tater tots'.

Retro Anklets Sock Update

Well I finished my very first 'sock'. I stayed up late on Saturday night into the wee hours of the morning in order to finish my sock. I was so amazed with myself that I could not get myself to sleep. I was so thrilled I brought the sock with me to church to show our ladies that they too can accomplish this!!!

I will now start on the sock's mate. I do not wish to get the disease I have read about called 'second sock malady', so I will soon begin casting on.

My Stash Cabinet

I just love my stash cabinet. It contains a variety of yarns, from inexpensive to 'mucho' money. Colors vary as well from solids to variegated colorways. The lower shelves which cannot be seen contain all of my needles and accoutrements.

The very top shelf contains my Polish Pottery. I love pottery, most especially those unique pieces that are handpainted. I don't have a large selection, but what I do have, I love dearly and yes, I do use them. Polish Pottery is quite versatile.

The Lost Points Shawl

A work in progress is The Lost Points Shawl. I am using South West Trading Company's Melody Novelty Yarn, taupe color and 100% Bamboo, Chocolate color on circular needles, US #8. This project will probably take me into next year, at the rate I am going, 'going nowhere real fast'.

Counted Cross Stitch Lighthouse

The Thomas Kincade Lighthouse (counted cross stitch pattern) is being worked on by my oldest daughter. I am adding the finishing touches of french knots, which she hates doing. The piece is lovely, quite involved, but I believe will be worth the work once the piece is finished and framed.

Multidirectional Knitting - Scarf & Coaster

The multidirectional scarf was made in Artyarns Supermerino Colorway 119. I received this pattern through the Artyarns site (www.artyarns.com) once I joined the Yahoo group. The pattern is written by Iris Schreier. She has several books out and the group is moderated by her with several others. The multidirectional technique is fasinating and fast moving.

The coaster is made in Lion Brand's 100% Felting Wool Multicolor called 'Majestic Mountains'.

1x1 Men's Tweed Scarf & Unisex Tweed Cap/Hat

The tweed scarf was made using 100% Mongolian Cashmere Handspun by Jade Sapphire. This yarn was my very first expensive yarn. It was purchased in a store in Downtown Manhattan, New York called Purl (www.purlsoho.com). Purchased equal amounts of the color taupe and natural to make my own tweed and used a 1x1 ribbing pattern.

The cap/hat is made in the same yarn using a HandMaiden's Pattern for a Cloche Hat, but I changed it ever so slightly.

Shawls - Triangle and Rectangle

The rectangular and triangle shawl are both from Lion Brand's free pattern collections.

The triangle shawl was my very first project after I learned to knit and purl. I used Lion Brand's Trellis Yarn, Ocean Blue color. Used very large needle in order to achieve the airy drape. I did this pattern three times in order to get it 'right'. Not because the pattern was difficult, but because the yarn kept slipping off the needles; the second time I made the shawl, just as I was binding off, two stitches fell off and ran the length of the shawl. I was 'shell shocked'. But I was on a mission to finish this project and I did!!!

Unfortunately I didn't know about 'wooden' needles and so I used aluminum needles and learned the hard way that needles and yarns really need to be matched or married in order to finish a project. I learn quite quickly there were other needles I could use.

The rectangular shawl was created in Bernat's Matrix Yarn, Copper Wire color. This was my second project and that went really fast once I learned about and discovered the warmth and ease of wooden needles.

Retro Anklets

I finally started on 'real' socks rather than 'dummy socks'. Already I have hit several snafus. These 'snafus' will not deter me from learning the technique of sock knitting.

The pattern I am using for my first real socks comes from the book Socks - Socks - Socks by XRX Books. The pattern is called "Retro Anklets" and is considered an Easy Level project. The yarn is Opal Pfau, using #4 dpns. I am still working my way through this "easy level" pattern.

Quote of the Week

"When I was young I knew everything, now that I am old, I realize how little I know."

Well, I figure I better start 'posting' or else no one will visit me very often.